As a leading girls’ school in Australia, St Catherine’s is committed to nurturing and empowering independent and globally responsive young women, enabling them to approach all their endeavours with confidence, wisdom and integrity. – St Catherine’s School Charter

As a School community, we help students find their sense of purpose in the world through an environment that integrates critical awareness, a social conscience and quality relationships. We inspire our students to not only own their learning but also understand and appreciate their own unique capacities and the world around them.

Boarding at St Catherine’s School provides our girls with a safe and comfortable living environment. They have the opportunity to make friends with girls from across Australia and around the world. Boarders are provided the freedom to socialise with friends and to explore Melbourne on organised weekend activities, as well as the opportunity to develop positive study habits and importantly, to have a lot of fun!

St Catherine’s prides itself on being a cohesive and unique School community. Current St Catherine’s families, along with our alumnae, future students, and current and past parents and staff, are all active, generous, enthusiastic and supportive members of the St Catherine’s School community.

Browse our latest news items, see what events are coming up, read what our teachers and Principal are writing about on Conscientia St Catherine’s Blog or be informed on the latest media coverage of St Catherine’s School.

Early Learning Centre – Campbell House: The Ilhan Family Centre

Barbreck News

Collection of Children After Activities

With respect, I remind families of the following dismissal times for each of the many after School activities led by staff.

It is really important that children are collected promptly. If not collected on time, children can become both anxious and find it difficult when others have been collected.

Staff who lead the after School activities need to return to classrooms to prepare for the following day and to conclude the packing up/displays to be completed as soon as children are collected. They have usually had to leave their own area at the 3.30pm dismissal time in order to lead the activity.

Session times as follows:

Homework Happenings: 3.30pm-4.15pm

Years 3 and 4 Sport (Mondays): 3.30pm-4.30pm

Years 5 and 6 Sport (Tuesdays) 3.30pm-5.00pm

Years 4 Drama Class ‘Perform’ (Tuesdays): 3.40pm-4.30pm

Write on Wednesdays (Years 5 and 6) 3.30pm-4.30pm

Collection

Students are not permitted to wait outside the School gates after School nor after an extended activity. For safety reasons of the highest order, this is something we must be emphatic about. We ask parents to refrain from asking daughters to wait outside the School gate. Please note that staff in charge of the activity remain with children until collected by parents.

For those who require supervision after the sessions finish, please note the Camp Australia contact information:

After School Care – Provider is Camp Australia To register with Camp Australia (our OHSC Provider) telephone Camp Australia Head office 8855 14100 or 8851 4160 for details. Camp Australia operates the program in Campbell House. Please use the intercom system available on the front gate (at the left hand side of driveway) and Camp Australia staff will respond.

Direct phone numbers to contact staff (if intercom for some reason is not responded to are: Before and Afterschool Care parent contact number is 0412 510 875 or 9828 3904.

Nut Awareness

St Catherine’s is a Nut Aware School and, as such, we ask that students do not bring nuts/ nut products (e.g. peanut butter and Nutella) to School. We have a number of students who are anaphylactic to nuts (of all varieties) within the School and we request all families observe the School Policy with regard to this matter.

Birthdays

Very often, our students like to bring something small to share with classmates to celebrate their birthday. We remind families that no nuts/products with nuts are permitted and there is often a need for a gluten free option or two. We ask that icy-poles are not sent as the ‘birthday treat’ to be shared. There have been occasions when a number of girls who have had birthdays have brought boxes of icy-poles and we just cannot store them! The staff fridge is only adequate for the use by staff.

I thank parents for your understanding.

French Club

Bienvenue à 2017! French language, conversation and learning is already well underway at Barbreck, with the launching of two 2017 Barbreck French language extension groups: Les Lucioles and Club Français de Barbreck.

Both French language groups took a slightly different format in 2017, beginning in Week Two with the Venez L’essayer! (Come and try!) Program, offering students of many different experiences and backgrounds in French to come and have a go at speaking French in a happy and safe environment.

I would like to say a big ‘Merci Beaucoup!’ to the eighteen Years 2 and 3 students and fifteen Years 4, 5 and 6 students who offered their time and efforts to make our first session of Les Lucioles and Club Français de Barbreck a great success!

The Barbreck French language Groups will continue each Thursday in the Room of Requirement for Students between Years 2 to 6 for the rest of 2017. Please contact the Barbreck front office for more details.

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Charlotte Henderson and Sienna Rosham creating their French Club ‘Carte d’identité’

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Catherine Karas assists her sister Helena with the pronunciation of the French national anthem

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Year 4

On Friday Lalage Craig came to visit Year 4 to tell us about how tea is grown in India. She showed us a picture of women who pick the tea leaf buds early in the morning and put them in large baskets on their backs. They then send them to dry on a large table at the tea factory. This where the men put it into bags to be sent all over the world.

We learnt this as we are going to be reading a book called Cloud Tea Monkeys. Lalage lived on a plantation called Glenburn Tea Estate, in Northern India when she was a little girl. In spring when the women picked the leaves they had to be careful because the tigers put their young in the bushes to keep them cool.